Every once in a while a reader of my Epinions reviews will email me asking for advice. Once last year I was asked whether a Subaru WRX of VW Jetta 1.8t was the better car to buy. I responded that it depended on the buyer’s needs and priorities. The buyer replied that he didn’t really care how quick the car was, so I suggested that the Subaru Impreza RS might be a better choice than the WRX. The problem was, this car wasn’t anything special, and he wanted something that seemed special. A few weeks later he emailed me to let me know he had passed on some of the fastest compacts available to buy one of the slowest, a Honda Civic Hybrid. It satisfied his top priority: that something about the car be interesting.
I relate this case to suggest that people buy hybrids for reasons other than their high fuel economy and low emissions. Many buyers are likely lured by their sheer novelty, much like the first buyers of any new technology. One potential weakness of the Honda Civic is that from outside or inside the car it doesn’t look much different than the regular, ubiquitous Civic. Sure, it has a different grille and wheels, but the general public can’t tell the difference. Toyota’s first hybrid, the Prius, was granted unique sheetmetal, but its tall boxy form was hardly up to the task of communicating the gee-whiz nature of the car. It looked more like something cheap from Korea than the latest thing on wheels.
Well, Toyota certainly has that issue out of the way with the recently introduced second-generation Prius. (Americans didn’t have to wait a couple of years for this one; unlike the first it was designed with American needs in mind and thus did not have to be modified.) Toyota must have grown tired of hearing how boxy the original car was, for the new one—a five-door hatch—is as round and swoopy as anything on the road. Beyond the new styling, Toyota has thoroughly revised the interior and powertrain. Is the new car ready for America? Is America ready for the new car?
Background on Hybrids
Purely electric cars did not worked. They must be recharged too often, and recharging takes too long. The battery packs are so large and heavy that they severely harm the performance and functionality of the vehicle.
For these reasons, auto makers are now shifting their attention from all-electric vehicles to "hybrids," which use both an internal combustion engine (gasoline or diesel) and an electric motor. This technology is not entirely new. The diesel-electric locomotives that have powered trains for decades use one form of hybrid powertrain. In these locomotives, a diesel engine spins an electric generator that powers electric motors that drive the wheels. Since the diesel engine does not directly drive the wheels, but only works indirectly through the electric motors, this is called a "series" hybrid.
This type of hybrid is very efficient because the diesel engine can be kept in its most efficient operating range all the time. The downsides for automotive use are that this type of hybrid is very heavy, because the electric motors must be large enough to provide all of the power to the wheels, and it feels much different than a conventional powertrain to drive.
For these reasons, for automotive use a "parallel" hybrid seems to be the favored concept, at least for now. In a parallel hybrid, both the internal combustion engine and an electric motor drive the wheels. In general, parallel hybrids also contain the series layout: the engine also turns a generator, which charges a relatively small set of batteries, which powers one or more electric motors. The benefit of this is that you never have to plug the vehicle into an electrical outlet. You just refuel it like a conventional vehicle.
Toyota understands than many people would worry about the reliability of all of this leading-edge componentry. So an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the hybrid bits (including the battery pack) is standard.
Why make a hybrid at all? Compared to a regular automobile, they promise to be both more fuel efficient and more ecologically sound, especially in city driving. There are at least two reasons for this. First, regenerative braking can be used. When the driver hits the brakes, the vehicle can be slowed down at least in part by using the wheels to turn an electric generator that charges the batteries. While not as powerful as conventional brakes, the generator when in operation does slow the vehicle considerably. If more powerful braking is needed than the generator can provide, then conventional brakes are called into use. In this manner, at least some of the energy earlier used to accelerate the vehicle is recaptured. The second benefit to fuel economy and emissions is that in low-speed driving the engine can remain off, so that only the electric motor is used. Because both of these factors are most used in slow, stop-and-go city driving, hybrids have their largest benefits in this scenario. The original Prius was not initially sold in America because it promised fewer benefits in the highway driving many Americans regularly do, and needed a more powerful engine to perform adequately on the highway.
Styling
As mentioned above, the new Prius is as curvy as the old one was boxy. The ends of the car are connected by a nearly continuous arc. There are no clear breaks in this line. This yields an extremely steeply raked windshield and backlight (rear window). The latter is split in half much like that on the Pontiac Aztek or last Honda CRX. The car’s proportions appear to have been dictated by the engineering package rather than by a designer. They are awkward. Despite the continuous arc of the roof the overall design does not flow well, at least not aesthetically. Aerodynamically the car flows very well, with a very low drag coefficient of 0.26.
The 15-inch wheels look too small for the size of the bodyside (the front fender contains much unbroken metal over the front wheel well). This is partly because Toyota was striving for as efficient a package as possible, and large wheels steal space from passengers and cargo. But the styling of the wheels doesn’t help. The perimeter is unusually wide to permit a wavy shape. This leaves little of the diamter for the six spokes, which consequently are stumpy. The end result is that these 15s look like 12s. Maybe they wanted the styling to suggest the car’s lack of performance? Hard to believe, but possible.
The overall design is by no means beautiful; many will think it ugly. But no one will think it typical or boring. It definitely conveys that this is not a typical car.
In physical size the Prius has gained five inches of length, so it now matches the Civic in this dimension (but looks larger).
The interior design is nearly as wacky. As before an LCD information display occupies the center of the instrument panel. The panel itself continuously curves in plan view to eventually meet the distant base of the windshield. Near this base LCD instruments occupy a long narrow slot. The steering wheel is oval in shape like those in race cars. In this case the reason appears to have been to provide more room for steering-wheel-mounted controls. To reduce the need to use the primary controls on the LCD (which are actually easier to use than I expected) the main sound system and climate control functions can be adjusted from the steering wheel via eleven well-designed rockers and buttons.
With the gray interior much of the instrument panel and door panels are covered in a metallic burgundy finish. I found this finish, which I cannot recall seeing in a car before, oddly appealing. (In the tan interior these bits are brown.) The burgundy sections of the instrument panel as well as the window button surrounds are covered in the currently obligatory satin metal-look plastic. At least this car warrants such a high tech look. (Though I like the metal-look trim in my Protegé5 as well. As in the Prius, but unlike in many Nissan products, it is tastefully applied.) The seats are only available upholstered in a grippy, moderately luxurious fabric. All of these materials are up to Toyota’s high standards.
Accommodations
The new Prius is a much roomier car. Both rows offer plenty of legroom. Owing to the roofline headroom is abundant in the front seats but marginal in the back seat; I am 5-9 and there was just a fraction of an inch between the top of my head and the backlight. The rear seat is too narrow to sit three adults comfortably. Three child seats should fit, though.
Front seat comfort is good if not nearly a match for that in the new Solara (extremely good front seats in the new Camry coupe). The grippy cloth aids lateral support in turns. I would have liked to tilt the seat up a bit, but neither the tilt nor the height of the seat can be adjusted (maybe next year?). The wheel tilts but does not telescope. It felt a little further away than I would have liked.
The main problem with the driving position, however, is the steep glass, which yields a deep dash, thick pillars front and rear, and windowlets in the front pillars. The view forward is much like that in early GM and Ford minivans. Well, maybe not quite that awkward. The downside is that the Prius doesn’t feel like a typical compact from the driver’s seat. This isn’t so much because it has the interior space of a midsize car as that the distance to the windshield ahead and backlight behind resemble those of a far larger car. The passenger compartment at eye-level is nearly as long as the car. Of course, this is also a benefit. The view rearward is equally strange, with the bisected narrow rear backlight. On a positive not, the lower rear window permits great visibility in that direction.
One aspect of the driving position feels less minivanish this time around. Perhaps owing to the deep instrument panel, but I think also to lower seats, I did not feel as high above the hood and road.
Rear seat comfort is very good aside from the headroom limitation mentioned above. The seat cushion is high enough off the floor to provide good thigh support.
The practicality of the new package extends to storage. The interior is littered with useful compartments. Cargo volume behind the rear seat is listed as 16 cubic feet, only so-so for a hatchback. This space is usefully long but not very tall from floor to backlight. The rear seats can be folded to further increase cargo volume. (They could not in the old Prius or the Civic Hybird because of battery placement.) A few hidden storage compartments are located under the cargo floor. For more vertical space behind the rear seat, the floor separating these from the main cargo area can be removed. The security cover over the cargo area is of the window shade variety.
Overall a very efficient use of space. The only downsides are limited rear seat headroom and unusual views from the driver’s seat.
On the Road
The powertrain of the Prius has become even more highly sophisticated, but the basic layout remains. The 1.5-liter engine is designed for maximum economy and minimum emissions. For efficiency reasons it redlines at 5000 RPM, which is also where the power peak is. Because the redline is so low, the internal parts of the engine do not have to be very sturdy, and thus the engine is very light in weight. A computer splits the engine’s effort between turning the wheels and powering a generator.
The computer also determines how effort is split between the engine and motor in turning the wheels. At low speeds the electric motor can do all of the work. In the second generation Prius the electric motor is much more powerful, producing 67 horsepower where the old one produced 40. As a result, electric-only operation is now supposedly possible up to 40 miles-per-hour if you use a light foot—unless the batteries become depleted, in which case the engine is automatically started to power the generator and turn the wheels. Reverse is always electric only, since the engine’s transmission lacks a reverse gear. For those who have never driven an electric car, electric-only operation is strangely silent. (In reverse a warning beep continuously sounds.) When the car stops the computer supposedly turns the engine off then automatically restarts it using the motor/generator (which also serves as a starter) when necessary.
The engine’s transmission does not have gears in the standard sense. Instead, it is a continuously variable unit (CVT) that allows a virtually infinite number of ratios between two extremes. As a result, the computer can keep the engine at the optimal RPM at all times.
The gear selector requires some knowledge to use. To begin with it sprouts straight out from the dash. Like a computer joystick it is electric rather than mechanical and springs back to a non-position after each use. (BMW uses a similar selector in its 7-series.) The choices are RNDB. (“Park” is applied using a separate button above the shifter.) We all know what D, N, and R are, but what’s B? In D, regenerative braking only occurs when the brake pedal is used. In B, regenerative braking is used whenever the driver lifts his or her foot off of the accelerator. This is useful for coasting down long grades, when engine braking is desirable and might as well be used to generate energy. But overly fairly flat terrain the use of B will harm both performance and fuel economy because it will create more work for the engine.
In the first Prius transitions between motor and engine and generator and conventional brakes were obvious, sometimes very much so. Responses were often a bit slow, as if the computer took a little while to make its computations and tell the various components what to do. The brakes were non-linear, with the result that the amount of braking force received often exceeded what one intended and was generally hard to predict. The less complex Civic Hybrid did much better in this area by never entirely relying on the motor/generator for power or braking.
The new Prius at least matches the Civic in smoothness while retaining its heavier emphasis on the motor/generator. To me it never seemed that the engine was off. The new Prius certainly never felt like a golf cart, unlike the old one when using the electric motor to move the car at very low speeds. Perhaps the engine stayed on to heat the car. More likely it is so smooth and quiet (especially for a four-cylinder) that I had a hard time telling when it was running except under moderate-to-heavy acceleration. Since I had such a hard time telling when the engine was even running, clearly when it cut on and off was far from obvious. Braking was similarly smooth. Only once did a sudden stop on my part seem to catch the computer off-guard, resulting in more retardation than I expected. Driving in typical suburban traffic the powertrain feels smooth, well up to the task, and even relaxed. Little indicates that the powertrain is not conventional.
Under heavy acceleration, the computer directs the engine and motor to both give all they have to turning the wheels. This is more than the past but still not a whole lot. In addition to the previously stated power gain of the electric motor, the engine now produces 76 horsepower, a gain of six. Between these power increases and changes to the drivetrain the Prius’ zero to sixty time has been cut by about two seconds, to just over ten. This makes it much quicker than the Civic Hybrid as well. Or so Toyota claims. The new Prius felt slower to me. This might be because wind noise is very low even at highway speeds, and thus provides no indication of acceleration. The numbers on the speedometer jumped faster than my internal sensor suggested they should be. I once accelerated from 65 to 72 without realizing it.
Using electric motors to drive both the power steering and air conditioning maximizes performance. Neither serves as a drag on the engine. In the original Prius turning on the air conditioning significantly impaired the car’s performance.
Whether or not the new Prius is as quick as Toyota claims, it is not very satisfying to drive aggressively. Put the pedal down and the CVT sends the engine to the neighborhood of 5000 RPM and holds it there. At higher RPM the engine is noisy and this noise is of the weak-engine-working-its-butt-off variety. I have found larger, more powerful engines like Audi’s 1.8-liter turbo and especially Nissan’s 3.5-liter V6 much easier to loke with a CVT for the simple reason that they sound better at high RPM. Another common CVT issue: since engine RPM remain constant while vehicle speed is increasing, the sensation is much like that of a slipping clutch. This also seemed more an issue in the Prius than in the A4 and Murano. If I owned the Prius, I’d only use a heavy foot when absolutely necessary. Which is precisely how this car is intended to be driven for maximum economy anyway.
The various transitions between engine, motor/generator, and brakes are graphically depicted on one of the LCD’s alternative screens. (Others keep track of battery charging, display the climate controls, and so on. An optional voice-activated navigation system also uses this display.) The graphics have been ratcheted up a couple notches from the first Prius. For example, the wheels of the car now turn when the actual car is in motion.
This particular screen is valuable for more than entertainment. The first Prius earned EPA ratings of 52/45. The new one, despite its larger size and increased power, is rated 60/51.
Most reviews I have read reported lower than expected fuel economy for the first Prius, usually around 35 miles-per-gallon. I suspect this was because how you drive the Prius greatly affects its fuel economy. To get the best fuel economy, you must make maximum use of its regenerative braking and electric motor. What this means is that you should take as little pedal effort and thus as much space to slow down the car as possible. It also means that whenever you are going up and down hills you should shift into B, then shift back into D on flatter terrain. Less force on the accelerator, so the electric motor can do a lot of the work, also helps. Other techniques would undoubtedly boost economy further. Just study that screen while driving (but don’t hit anything)! Most Americans, of course, are going to drive how they want to drive. The Prius is probably not the car for them.
According to the trip computer, the Prius I drove had averaged 39.1 miles-per-gallon during 80 miles of test drives. The salesman reset it halfway through my test drive. For the last seven miles, when I drove it in a relaxed manner on free flowing surface streets at 40-to-50 miles-per-hour (broken by the occassional traffic light), it averaged 45.9. Sixty might prove difficult, but 50 should not be too hard in normal suburban driving.
Chassis performance has also improved over the first Prius. Ride quality remains very good, but this time not entirely due to super-soft suspension tuning. The new Prius leans less in turns and generally feels much more stable and substantial. Yet its responses to steering inputs are at the same time nimble. In comparison the Civic Hybrid feels ponderous, as if it were carrying more weight than its chassis was designed to carry (it is). In this substantial yet nimble character the Prius feels closer to a Corolla than a Camry. Even feeling like a Corolla (albeit one with an extra-long passenger compartment) is quite an achievement. It helps that the tires in size (185/65R15) and type are those of a normal compact. The Prius’s handling is by no stretch of the imagination sporty, but then neither is the Corolla’s. Noise levels, especially wind noise levels, are low even at highway speeds.
Overall, the Prius’s weirdness has transferred from how it drives to how it looks. The strangest aspect of driving the Prius is now the view forward, followed by the CVT’s response to a heavy right foot. The various powertrain transitions are a distant third. Even with these caveats, the Prius’s objective and subjective performance now largely matches that of a good non-sporting compact.
Toyota Prius Price Comparisons and Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
The following is from when the review was originally written:
Despite the increases in size, performance, utility, and perceived substance Toyota has kept the base price the same, $20,510. This undercuts the Honda by about $500.
However, while there are no options available on the Honda the top option package on the price runs $5,245. For this 25-percent increase in the car’s price you get every available feature: a rear intermittent window wiper, front side airbags, front and rear head curtain airbags, Smart Entry, Homelink, navigation system, a premium AM/FM stereo with 6-disc in-dash CD changer and nine JBL speakers, Vehicle Skid Control, front foglamps, and high intensity discharge headlamps. Quite a pile of stuff, most of it not available on the typical compact, or even on the Camry.
Smart Entry, for example, automatically unlocks the car and enables the “start” button when it senses the key nearby (in your purse or pocket). Mercedes charges a grand for just this feature. On the Prius it is available in various packages costing as little as $1,100. (The car I drove had the $1,100 package #4.)
Why make so many premium features available on a $20,000 car? Because, as I stated back at the beginning, this car is as much about the latest technology as fuel economy and low emissions. The sort of people who buy it to have the latest thing will also want this other stuff.
Since the Prius is far more car than the Civic for a slightly lower price clearly it’s the better buy between the two. The only reason to get the Civic now is if you want your hybrid to look like a normal car from the outside and the driver’s seat. Evaluating the new Prius’s price beyond this comparison is difficult because it is hard to categorize. As a compact it seems pricey, especially since dealers are not discounting (according to Edmunds). A similarly-equipped Corolla LE lists for $17,035, and after the typical discount (again according to Edmunds) and a $500 rebate runs about $15,200. Which makes it about five grand less costly than the Prius. This difference will take many, many miles to earn back even after figuring in the federal tax deduction for buying a hybrid.
But the Prius is roomier than a Corolla. This together with its additional versatility is worth a good part of the difference. When the midsize Prius is compared to the midsize Camry its price approaches parity. Suddenly Toyota’s decision to not base the Prius on an existing car makes economic sense. Simply by making price comparisons more difficult, the price appears more reasonable.
The Prius might also be evaluated as a advanced technology product. In this it is a bargain. In what other product category can leading-edge technology be bought for under the average product price? Hence the car’s attraction as a conversation piece.
One area remains a concern. Advanced technology items are subject to heavy depreciation. Now that the new Prius is available, resale values are bound to plummet for the old one. (I’ll keep an eye on this.) In ten years, maybe even in five years, who is going to want this car? Of course by then those into playthings will have moved on anyway.
Last Words
The new Prius represents a vast improvement over the old one. In normal driving it feels, well, pretty much normal, with the major exception of the view over the dash. But that has nothing to do with the car’s hybrid powertrain. All in all, those into the latest thing will love this car. It has been designed for them. Those seeking efficiency and low emissions will also be happy here, but might be equally happy in the more conventional Civic. This still isn’t a car for the average driver, but that is now more due to how the car is styled than how it drives.
A Note on Toyota Prius Reliability
I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, especially with hybrids, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Prius rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Toyota Prius reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Prius--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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